Extensive Cosmic-Ray Showers

Auger, Pierre; Ehrenfest, P.; Maze, R.; Daudin, J.; Fréon, Robley A.

doi:10.1103/revmodphys.11.288

Cited by 246 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…For their detection we rely on the particle cascades, or extensive air showers (EAS) that the cosmic rays produce in the earth's atmosphere. The properties of extensive air showers have been much studied in the 50 years since they were first explored by Auger and his collaborators (Auger, Maze, and Grivet-Meyer, 1938;Auger et al, 1939). The phenomenon that Auger discovered seems first to have been suspected by Rossi (1934), who reported on the basis of observations in Eritrea that ''It would seem .…”

Section: Historical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 95%

Observations and implications of the ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays

2000

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The authors define ''ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays'' (UHECRs) as those cosmic rays with energies above 10 18 eV. It had been anticipated that there would be a cutoff in the energy spectrum of primary cosmic rays around 6ϫ10 19 eV induced by the interaction of the particles with the 2.7-K primordial photons. However, recent experimental data have established that particles exist with energies greatly exceeding this. It follows that the sources of such particles are probably nearby, on a cosmological scale. However, although the trajectories of such energetic particles through the galactic and intergalactic magnetic fields may be nearly rectilinear, no astronomical sources have as yet been identified. This is the enigma of the highest-energy cosmic rays. The paper reviews the history of research in this energy regime and critically assesses the observational results on the energy spectrum, arrival directions, and composition of the primary cosmic rays based on observations made by six experiments. The detection methods currently available are described. Special techniques have been developed as particles of 10 20 eV or higher occur at a rate of only about 1 per km 2 per century. Errors in measurement are given particular attention. The authors also review the theoretical predictions for a number of candidate sources of cosmic rays beyond the predicted cutoff. Finally, the four major projects planned to address the question of the origin of UHECRs are briefly described. CONTENTS

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Section: Historical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 95%

Observations and implications of the ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays

2000

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“…Since the detection of extensive air showers (EAS) [1] lateral or radial density distributions ρ(r) of different kinds of particles produced in EAS have been an ongoing target of experimental as well as theoretical investigations. There are a number of reasons why EAS lateral distributions are of importance for the air shower phenomenon.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electron, muon, and hadron lateral distributions measured in air showers by the KASCADE experiment

Antoni¹,

Apel²,

Badea³

et al. 2001

Astroparticle Physics

100

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“…When ultra high energy cosmic rays hit the Earth's atmosphere they create particle air showers [21], similar to the particle showers known from calorimeters in high energy physics (see figure 2.3). Understanding the properties of air showers in detail requires simulations which can, for example, be accomplished with AIRES [22] or CORSIKA [23].…”

Section: Origin Of Cosmic Raysmentioning

confidence: 88%

Instruments and Methods for the Radio Detection of High Energy Cosmic Rays

Schröder¹

2012

Springer Theses

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Instruments and Methods for the Radio Detection of High Energy Cosmic RaysCosmic rays at energies above 10 15 eV cannot be measured directly due to the low flux. Instead, the properties of the primary cosmic ray particles (arrival direction, energy, mass) have to be reconstructed from measurements of secondary particles forming an air shower. For this, digital radio antenna arrays, like LOPES at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), are a relatively new instrument. The radio emission mainly originates from the deflection of secondary air shower electrons and positrons in the Earth's magnetic field. The radio technique aims at achieving a similar quality in the reconstruction of air shower parameters as the established Cherenkov or fluorescence light detection methods, which in contrast to the radio technique are limited to dark, moonless nights.The present studies aim to advance the air shower radio detection in technological aspects and analysis methods. The developments are mainly applied to LOPES, but also provide a useful set of tools, which will soon be applied on the analysis of first AERA measurements. AERA is a next generation digital radio array at the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina. Moreover, this thesis reflects the recent progress in the understanding of the radio emission by air showers. The main results of the studies are:• A new method for time calibration with a reference beacon has been developed.It allows a time resolution of ∼ 1 ns even with large antenna arrays. This is necessary for digital radio interferometry which improves the signal-to-noise ratio and the reconstruction accuracy of the primary particle properties. This method is essential for the measurement of cosmic rays with LOPES, and is going to be applied at AERA.• A per-event comparison of lateral distributions measured with LOPES and REAS3 simulations reflects a significantly improved understanding of the radio emission mechanisms. For the first time a Monte Carlo simulation of the radio emission by air showers can in average reproduce measured data. A detailed investigation of systematic effects was performed to accurately reconstruct LOPES lateral distributions. In particular, a method has been developed to appropriately treat the influence of radio noise on measured lateral distributions.• It is shown that a conical radio wavefront fits LOPES measurements and REAS3 simulations better than a spherical wavefront, which up to now has been assumed for LOPES beamforming analyses. Furthermore, the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum X max can be reconstructed by determining the opening angle of the conical wavefront. However, due to the small lateral extension of LOPES of about 200 m and the high radio background at KIT, the measurement uncertainty (∆X max ≈ 200 g/cm 2 ) is too large for a per-event reconstruction of the primary mass. This will improve at AERA, but could not be examined in detail because of a delay in the construction. • Eine neue Methode zur Zeitkalibration mit einen Rerefenzsender (Beaco...

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Extensive Cosmic-Ray Showers

Cited by 246 publications

References 4 publications

Observations and implications of the ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays

Observations and implications of the ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays

Electron, muon, and hadron lateral distributions measured in air showers by the KASCADE experiment

Instruments and Methods for the Radio Detection of High Energy Cosmic Rays

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